Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
Encyclopedia
The Latin Rite Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 Archdiocese of Wellington is the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Zealand. Catholics number about 83,214 (2006 census). Parishes number 47 parishes and the archdiocese extends over central New Zealand between Levin and Masterton in the north to Kaikoura to Westport in the south.

Ordinaries of Wellington

Philippe Viard was Vicar Apostolic of Wellington from 1850 until the Diocese of Wellington was created in 1860. Francis Redwood was Bishop of that diocese until 1887 when he became Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Wellington (created in that year) and Metropolitan of New Zealand. All incumbents since then carry those latter two titles.
Tenure Incumbent Life
1848 to 1860 Philippe-Joseph Viard
Philippe Viard
Philippe Joseph Viard was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand.Born to Claude and Pierette Charlotte , he attended the parish school of Saint-Nizier and then entered the minor seminary at Argentière about 1827, proceeding to the major seminary of Saint-Irénée at Lyon in 1831...

 S.M.
Vicar Apostolic
(1809 to 1872)
1860 to 1872 Philippe-Joseph Viard
Philippe Viard
Philippe Joseph Viard was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand.Born to Claude and Pierette Charlotte , he attended the parish school of Saint-Nizier and then entered the minor seminary at Argentière about 1827, proceeding to the major seminary of Saint-Irénée at Lyon in 1831...

 S.M.
Bishop of Wellington
1874 to 1887 Francis Mary Redwood
Francis Redwood
Francis William Mary Redwood SM , was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Metropolitan of New Zealand.Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 on the Tixall estate, Staffordshire, England. In 1842 he sailed to New Zealand with his parents on the George Fyfe...

 S.M.
Bishop of Wellington
(1839 to 1935)
1887 to 1935 Francis Mary Redwood
Francis Redwood
Francis William Mary Redwood SM , was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Metropolitan of New Zealand.Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 on the Tixall estate, Staffordshire, England. In 1842 he sailed to New Zealand with his parents on the George Fyfe...

 S.M.
Archbishop of Wellington
1935 to 1954 Thomas O'Shea
Thomas O'Shea (Archbishop)
Thomas O'Shea, SM was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Metropolitan of New Zealand.He was born at San Francisco, California on 13 March 1870, the son of Edmond O'Shea, a miner, and his wife, Johanna Sullivan, both Irish-born, who had emigrated from Charleston, New Zealand. The family...

, SM
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...

(1870 to 1954)
1954 to 1973 Peter McKeefry
Peter McKeefry
Peter Thomas Bertram McKeefry was the Third Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan of New Zealand and its first Cardinal.-Early life and education:...

(1899 to 1973)
1974 to 1979 Reginald Delargey (1914 to 1979)
1979 to 2005 Thomas Stafford Williams (1930 to - )
2005 to - John Atcherley Dew
John Atcherley Dew
John Atcherley Dew is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, and the metropolitan of New Zealand.Born in Waipawa, he attended St. Joseph's Primary School, Waipukurau and St Joseph's College, Masterton. His tertiary education was at Holy Name Seminary, Christchurch and at Holy Cross College,...

(1948 to - )

Current Bishops

  • John Atcherley Dew
    John Atcherley Dew
    John Atcherley Dew is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, and the metropolitan of New Zealand.Born in Waipawa, he attended St. Joseph's Primary School, Waipukurau and St Joseph's College, Masterton. His tertiary education was at Holy Name Seminary, Christchurch and at Holy Cross College,...

    , Archbishop of Wellington.
  • Thomas Stafford Williams, Archbishop Emeritus

Secondary schools

  • Bishop Viard College, Porirua, Wellington
    Bishop Viard College
    Bishop Viard College, Also known as Viard College or BVC is a coeducational secondary school located in Porirua, New Zealand...

  • Chanel College, Masterton
    Chanel College, Masterton
    Chanel College, Masterton is a Catholic secondary school situated in Masterton, New Zealand. The school is named after St Peter Chanel, who was a French Marist priest killed on the Pacific island of Futuna in 1841. The school was established in 1978...

  • Garin College, Nelson
    Garin College, Nelson
    Garin College, Nelson is an integrated, co-ed day and boarding secondary school located in Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand. The college is Nelson's first catholic college. It was founded in 2002 to serve the Catholic community in, especially, Nelson, Golden Bay and Marlborough...

  • Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt, Wellington
    Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt
    Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt is a Catholic secondary school situated in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It was established in 1912 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions and was the first secondary school to be opened in the Hutt Valley.It was originally sited in high street on the...

  • St Bernard's College, Lower Hutt, Wellington
  • St Catherine's College, Kilbirnie, Wellington
  • St Mary's College, Thorndon, Wellington
    St Mary's College, Wellington
    St Mary's College Wellington is situated in the suburb of Thorndon in Wellington, New Zealand. The school is an integrated all girls Catholic secondary school for years 9-13.-History:...

  • St Patrick's College, Kilbirnie, Wellington
  • St Patrick's College, Silverstream, Wellington

See also

  • Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington
    Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington
    The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Hill Street, Thorndon in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Wellington...

  • Francis Douglas (priest)
    Francis Douglas (priest)
    Vernon Francis Douglas was a priest of the Missionary Society of St. Columban who was killed in the Philippines by Japanese soldiers in 1943. Douglas was from Wellington and trained for the Catholic priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel. Within a few months of his ordination, at the end of...

  • Holy Name Seminary
    Holy Name Seminary
    Holy Name Seminary was a Roman Catholic seminary staffed by the Society of Jesus established in New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1947 in Christchurch and closed at the end of 1978.-Establishment:...

  • Holy Cross College (New Zealand)
    Holy Cross College (New Zealand)
    Holy Cross College or Holy Cross Seminary is the national Roman Catholic seminary of New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1900 in Mosgiel and was relocated to Auckland in 1997.-Establishment:...

  • Southern Star Abbey
    Southern Star Abbey
    The Abbey of our Lady of the Southern Star or Southern Star Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in a remote, rural area of the North Island, New Zealand in the Diocese of Palmerston North. It is of the Trappist tradition . The monastery supports itself by operating a dairy farm...

  • Roman Catholicism in New Zealand
  • List of New Zealand Catholic bishops

History

The Archdiocese of Wellington, which is one of the two original diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 (along with the Diocese of Auckland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Auckland is one of the two original dioceses in New Zealand. Although formally a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington, both were erected on 20 June 1848...

, was erected as a suffragan diocese on 20 June 1848. Previously there had been the Apostolic Vicariate of New Zealand, erected in 1842, with Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste François Pompallier was the first vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand. He was born in Lyon, France. He became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.-Appointment and voyage:...

 as Vicar Apostolic.

Successively, portions of the original diocese became the new dioceses of Dunedin
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Dunedin is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was formed on 26 November 1869 from a portion of the territory in the Diocese of Wellington, before it was elevated to an archdiocese....

 (26 November 1869), Christchurch
Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch
The Latin Rite Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand...

 (5 May 1887), and Palmerston North
Roman Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North is a suffragan Diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was formed on 6 March 1980 when the Archdiocese was divided...

 (6 March 1980).

Early years

The Church established the diocese on 4 June 1848 to resolve the difficulty between the Bishop of Auckland (Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste Pompallier
Jean Baptiste François Pompallier was the first vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand. He was born in Lyon, France. He became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.-Appointment and voyage:...

) and the religious clergy in his diocese. A line roughly across the 39th parallel
39th parallel south
The 39th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 39 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....

 between Waitara
Waitara, New Zealand
Waitara is the name of a town and a river in the northern part of the Taranaki Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Waitara is located just off State Highway 3, 15 km northeast of New Plymouth....

 in the west and Wairoa
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...

 in the east divided the two dioceses of Auckland and Wellington. Wellington diocese began to the south of the line: it included what would today encompass the dioceses of Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. On 1 May 1850 Bishop Viard
Philippe Viard
Philippe Joseph Viard was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand.Born to Claude and Pierette Charlotte , he attended the parish school of Saint-Nizier and then entered the minor seminary at Argentière about 1827, proceeding to the major seminary of Saint-Irénée at Lyon in 1831...

, SM, with Marist Priests Jean Forest, Jean-Baptiste Petitjean, Antoine Garin, Jean Antoine Séon and Jean Lampila; eight Marist Brothers, three "Sisters of Mary" and seven others — a group totalling 24 in all — arrived in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 aboard the Clara from Auckland.

Within the month Viard had dispatched missionaries to Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

, Akaroa
Akaroa
Akaroa is a village on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name—the name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for 'Long Harbour'.- Overview :...

 and the Hutt Valley. He had also purchased two sections on Hill Street; Lord Petre
Baron Petre
Baron Petre , of Writtle, in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1603 for Sir John Petre. He represented Essex in parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex...

 gave him a third. The Hill Street site stood adjacent to what would become the seat of New Zealand's secular government.

Viard opened the Cathedral of St Mary on 7 December 1841 the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...

. After the 23 January 1855 earthquake devastated Wellington Viard consecrated the diocese to the Blessed Virgin under the title of the Immaculate Conception in order to enlist her protection from further earthquakes. The 700 people who packed the cathedral included about 300 Protestants.

Séon at Akaroa
Akaroa
Akaroa is a village on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name—the name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for 'Long Harbour'.- Overview :...

 had gone to Purau in Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....

 Harbour to visit when the Charlotte-Jane
Charlotte-Jane
The Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.-Arrival in Lyttelton:...

— the first of the four ships that established the Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

 settlement — arrived at Lyttelton in 1850. He serviced the needs of the lower South Island in the early years.

Garin arrived in Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

 on 9 May 1850 together with Brother Claude-Marie. There they soon opened a small school.

Lampila, who had already visited Hawkes Bay from Whakatane
Whakatane
Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...

, departed on 3 June 1850 with Brothers Basile and Florentin. A fierce storm saw them land further north (outside the diocese) and Viard had to redirect them later. They arrived in Pakowhai (near the future Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

) in December. Shortly afterwards, Euloge Reignier replaced Lampila and opened his first church there on 6 March 1859. Basile and Florentin (John) grew the first grapes there. Two roads in the Meeanee area (Basil Road and Johns Road) commemorate them, and Mission Vineyards traces its history to their efforts.

The Church grew somewhat more slowly in Taranaki. Pezant left on 12 May 1850, but on his return five months later admitted that the very few faithful did not yet need a full-time mission. Pezant later began in Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....

. Lampila joined the mission up the Wanganui River
Whanganui River
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand.Known for many years as the Wanganui River, the river's name reverted to Whanganui in 1991, according with the wishes of local iwi. Part of the reason was also to avoid confusion with the Wanganui River in the South Island...

.

In Napier in February 1865 the Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions
Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions
The Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women. They were founded in Lyons, France in 1861 by Euphrasie Barbier. The Congregation's presence is felt worldwide...

 established their first girls' school outside France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. This would develop into Sacred Heart College, Napier
Sacred Heart College, Napier
Sacred Heart College, Napier was founded on its present site in 1867 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions. For the first one hundred years of its existence, the College was staffed predominantly by the Sisters of the Missions. Sister Mary Rose who completed her term in 1998 was the last...

. A year later the Church established a school and orphanage for Maori girls nearby. This became Hato Hohepa
St Joseph's Māori Girls' College
St Joseph's Māori Girls' College or Hato Hōhepa is an integrated, boarding and day college in Taradale, New Zealand for girls in Year 9 to Year 13.-History:St Joseph's Māori Girls' College was founded in 1867 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions...

, Greenmeadows.

Otago and Southland

Delphin Moreau made several visits to the Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 and Southland
Southland Region
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...

 regions, carrying on what Pompallier had begun in the earliest days of the Catholic Mission. The 1861 discovery of gold near Tuapeka
Tuapeka River
The Tuapeka River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a tributary of the Clutha River, which it joins at Tuapeka Mouth between Roxburgh and Balclutha....

 and Lawrence
Lawrence, New Zealand
Lawrence is a small town of 474 inhabitants in Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 8, the main route from Dunedin to the inland towns of Queenstown and Alexandra...

, then in the following year in Central Otago
Central Otago
Central Otago is the inland part of the New Zealand region of Otago in the South Island. The area commonly known as Central Otago includes both the Central Otago District and the Queenstown-Lakes District to the west....

 near Cromwell
Cromwell, New Zealand
Cromwell is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand.It is situated between State Highway 6 and State Highway 8 leading to the Lindis Pass, 75 km northeast, and Alexandra, 33 km south. The road to Alexandra winds through the Cromwell Gorge...

 and Arrowtown
Arrowtown
Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 5 km from State Highway 6...

, caused a rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

, but by this time Aimé Martin had joined Moreau. Miners also panned the Shotover River
Shotover River
The Shotover River is located in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The name correctly suggests that this 60 kilometre-long river is fast flowing, with numerous rapids...

 and the Taieri
Taieri River
The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is located in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw ranges, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 km south of Dunedin.The upper reaches meander...

, and the gold rushes had a significant impact on the area.

Bishop Viard sent several priests to visit the area and visited himself. In 1868 Viard went to Rome and later attended the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...

. While in Europe he met with the Marist authorities in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

 and with Propaganda
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...

. Pompallier had arrived in Rome to tender his resignation, and Viard requested assistance for the southern part of his diocese. In 1869 Otago and Southland became a separate diocese, called Dunedin
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Dunedin is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was formed on 26 November 1869 from a portion of the territory in the Diocese of Wellington, before it was elevated to an archdiocese....

, with Bishop Patrick Moran
Patrick Moran (bishop)
Patrick Moran was Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Province of Cape Colony in South Africa and the first Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand .-Early life:...

 (an Irishman translated from East Cape Colony in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

) as its first Bishop.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK